Director General of Customs Adel Ben Hassen Wednesday said 5,015 cases totalling 270 MTD were registered over the first ten months of the year as part of the fight against smuggling.

Ben Hassen also told the media, on the sidelines of the fourth meeting of the Joint Customs Commission of the Agadir Agreement member countries held in Tunis, the Directorate of Customs Investigations uncovered 538 cases amounting to 1000 MTD in connection to the fight against smuggling and money laundering.

Customs and mechanisms for customs control are recording daily infringements related to smuggling and money laundering in a bid to establish customs justice and mitigate the effects of smuggling on national economy.

The official spoke about the modernisation of the equipment that helped secure the legal border crossings and said continuous training programmes were devised for customs staff.

This fourth meeting of the Joint Customs Commission of the Agadir Agreement member countries is held as part of the follow-up of recommendations of the third meeting held in Cairo in April 2016, said the Director-General.

The meeting is an opportunity to implement mechanisms that are likely to foster a better collaboration between member countries, he said. He also reminded of the positive results achieved by the Technical Committee of the Agadir Agreement set up in 2014.